Cell Reproduction

Cell Reproduction Eric Gonzalez Strayer University Week 4 Lab Professor Lynn Roginsky 22 Jul 11 Cell Reproduction The goal of this week’s lab is to explore the effects cancerous cells can have on tissue in the lungs, stomach, and ovaries . Using a microscope and slideshow and based on readings in the lab the following are answers to questions asked in the experiment. Based on the data gathered from observation differences in normal cells and cancerous ones have revealed themselves.

Most notably in normal cells is there’s much less multiplying and a more even spacing among the cells. One of the fundamental characteristics of cancer cells is their uncontrolled growth and through the microscope this behavior is seen in an increased rate of cell division and in the failure of tumor cells to die (Cancer, 2011) Having unlimited growth means that cancerous cells could potentially invade everywhere in your body causing fatal complications. After the experiencing the lab it appears that ovarian cancer is the most aggressive.

In the slides from normal to cancerous there was much more activity in the ovary sample. The cancerous ovary slide showed a greater number of cancerous cells dividing than that of the cancerous lung and stomach. However, the samples of the stomach were very close to that of the ovary which does show the threat the potential damage stomach cancer can have on the body. For the ovaries though the higher rate of multiplying meant that it’s growth of cancer cells was the most aggressive of the three. The mitotic index was brought up as diction in the lab.

According to the reference in the lab, the mitotic index is the ratio of dividing cells to the total number of cells in the sample. Tissues that are cancerous have a higher mitotic index than that of normal tissues. This is due to the fact that cancerous cells have an uncontrollable reproduction rate which allows for quicker division among the cells. For example the amount of cells shown in the normal ovary sample was twenty-one with only three currently going through the division phase equating to a fourteen percent index.

The cancerous ovary sample showed twenty cells with eight currently dividing reaching a mitotic index of forty percent. Therefore cancerous cells have a higher mitotic index. In conclusion the lab provided insight of how cancerous cells can differ depending on the tissue they are infecting. Each sample showed a brief insight on the differences between a normal tissue and a cancerous one. Without having additional slides and samples on other various tissue of the human body or a more specific time lapse it is hard to know the effects cancer can have on a tissue cell from day one to date of experimentation.

This lab has been able to show though that normal tissue cells are constantly looking to balance their existence with each other by keeping a low mitotic index to only replace those cells that die off. Obviously that is the exact opposite goal of cancer which in the samples shown were only looking to overtake the tissue and keep reproducing with no end in sight. References: Cancer. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/92230/cancer